Effectiveness of Lower-Extremity Functional Training (LIFT) in Young Children With Unilateral Spastic Cerebral Palsy: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background. Children with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy (USCP) have strength, coordination, and balance deficits affecting gross motor skills, such as walking, running, and jumping. However, there is a paucity of evidence for effective treatments for lower-extremity (LE) function in children with USCP. Objective. To determine the effectiveness of LE intensive functional training (LIFT) compared with an attention control group receiving upper-extremity bimanual training (Hand-Arm Bimanual Intensive Therapy [H-HABIT]). Methods. A total of 24 children with USCP were randomized to receive 90 hours of LIFT (5.8 [2.3] years) or an equivalent dosage of H-HABIT (5.1 [2.6] years) delivered 2 h/d, 5 d/wk for 9 weeks. Caregivers were trained to administer the intervention in the home setting. Progress and skill progression were monitored, and supervision was provided via weekly telerehabilitation. The primary outcome was the 1-minute walk test (1MWT). Secondary outcomes included self-selected and fast walking speeds, ABILOCO-kids, 30-s chair rise test, and single-leg stance. Results. LIFT showed greater improvement for the 1MWT (P = .017) and ABILOCO-kids (P = .008) compared with controls. The other secondary outcomes were not different between groups. Conclusions. The administration of LE intensive interventions in the home setting by caregivers was shown to be an effective and novel mode of delivery for improving gait capacity and performance. LIFT delivered in the home setting using telerehabilitation for monitoring resulted in improvements in ambulation distance and overall walking ability as compared to an intervention of equal intensity and duration that also controlled for the increased social interaction and attention between caregiver and child.

Caregiver-directed home-based intensive bimanual training in young children with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy: a randomized trial.

AIM: To examine the efficacy of caregiver-directed, home-based intensive bimanual training in children with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy (USCP) using a randomized control trial. METHOD: Twenty-four children (ages 2y 6mo-10y 1mo; 10 males, 14 females) performed home-based activities directed by a caregiver for 2 hours per day, 5 days per week, for 9 weeks (total=90h). Cohorts of children were age-matched into groups and randomized to receive home-based hand-arm bimanual intensive therapy (H-HABIT; n=12) or lower-limb functional intensive training (LIFT-control; n=12). Caregivers were trained before the intervention and supervised remotely via telerehabilitation. Dexterity and bimanual hand function were assessed using the Box and Blocks test (BBT) and the Assisting Hand Assessment (AHA) respectively. Caregiver perception of functional goals was measured using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM). RESULTS: H-HABIT showed greater improvement on the BBT compared to LIFT-control and no improvement on the AHA. H-HABIT demonstrated significant improvement in COPM-Performance compared to LIFT-control and both groups showed equal improvement in COPM-Satisfaction. INTERPRETATION: H-HABIT improved dexterity and performance of functional goals, but not bimanual performance, in children with USCP compared to a control group receiving intervention of equal intensity/duration that also controlled for increased caregiver attention. Home-based models provide a valuable, family-centered approach to achieve increased treatment intensity.

A comparison of 2 techniques for measuring rectus femoris muscle thickness in cerebral palsy.

PURPOSE: : Precise measures of muscle size are useful when investigating weakness in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Therefore, the purpose of the study was to determine agreement between 2 muscle thickness measurements of the rectus femoris (RF) in CP. METHODS: : Measures of RF thickness in 13 youth with CP who were ambulatory (mean age: 14.4 ± 3.6 years) were obtained bilaterally using ultrasound imaging. Three measures were obtained at 50% thigh length and averaged (MT50). Maximum muscle thickness (MaxMT) was also determined through repeated measurements toward the proximal insertion of the RF. RESULTS: : The Bland-Altman plot showed that all values, except for one outlier, fell within 95% limits of agreement (-0.11 to 0.28 cm), showing excellent agreement. However, a constant bias toward higher values with MaxMT method was observed. CONCLUSION: : Given the time-consuming nature of obtaining MaxMT, the MT50 measurement may be a more feasible alternative when estimating maximum muscle thickness of the RF.